Butternut Black Bean Burgers

First off, these are totally veggie burgers. I was forced to leave the veggie bit out of the title because I suffer from severe AA. Alliteration Addiction: it’s legit, Google it. No wait don’t, I’m totally lying. But I’d never lie about food; these burgers are borderline bitc– oh gosh, maybe I really DO have AA!

Secondly, I totally have spinach on my finger in the above photo and while it’s making me positively twitchy to look at it, I can’t photoshop veggies out of my photos. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.

Lastly, I ate these so fast I’m fairly certain I stopped breathing for the entire duration of this butternut black bean burger. After that first glorious bite it became imperative that I smash that sandwich into my face as fast as possible. I really need to work on my speed eating issues, huh? I’ll tackle it right after I figure out how to nix that pesky AA.

Phew! I feel so much better! Now that my dirty laundry has been aired, let’s eat!

Butternut Black Bean Burgers

Most weekends I’ll cube and roast an entire butternut squash and use it for soups, salads, and even these burgers! You can puree roasted butternut squash at home for this recipe or opt for a store bought puree, totally up to you!

This is also a great use for leftover holiday sides so pumpkin, butternut, acorn squash, and sweet potato purees will all work here. WOOT!

THE TOPPINGS:

Instructions

Whisk together 1 TBSP ground flax with 3 TBSP water and pop it in the fridge to set.

Next mash black beans in a large bowl and set aside. Alternatively you can use refried black beans, I've made it both ways! Measure to ensure you have a cup and you're good to go.

Add your butternut squash to the beans and set aside.

Next saute onion, celery, and garlic in olive oil until tender and near-translucent, adding the minced garlic towards the end to prevent burning.

Season the veggies with your Italian seasoning blend, salt, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and parsley and stir to coat.

Add the freshly sauteed veggies to your beans and squash and stir in your oats.

Remove your flax egg from the fridge and add it to the bowl.

Stir to fully incorporate and roll mixture into four balls.

For optimal burger shape, cup each ball in your hands and squeeze tightly, rotating as you gently, but firmly, press it into a disc.

Giggles aside, pop your burgers onto a plate, cover with foil or cling wrap and refrigerate as you prep your buns [or lettuce wraps!] and toppings. This will give them a little while to set. You can even leave them overnight and cook them up the following day. I often make one after 15-30 minutes of chill time and cook up the rest the following day.

Ready to eat?

Pour a tablespoon or two of oil in a skillet and heat to medium-high, so the burgers sizzle when you add them to the pan!

Cook for a few minutes on each side until you're left with a golden crust. and a warm center. Repeat for each burger, or cook two at once if you have a big enough pan! I'd skip crowding all four together just because they're a pain to flip when all up in eachother's business. A tip for perfectly shaped veggie burgers? While sizzling away in the skillet, I use my spatula to gently help form the sides into a perfect disc. Works like a charm!

Slather your buns with sriracha mayo, pile them high with lettuce, spinach, pepper jack and top each with a yummy butternut burger. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

The burger itself is naturally vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free, so choose your favorite toppings and have fun with it!

Vegan mayo combined with sriracha makes a great veganized version of the sauce I used and a fresh mountain of guac also makes another stellar vegan topping!

Following a gluten-free diet? Make sure you grab GF-certified oats! You can also use your favorite GF bun, wrap the burgers in lettuce, or top them on your favorite salad! It's awesome any which way! There are so many possibilities for these tasty veggie burgers, I hope you love them as much as we do!

Nutrition facts below are an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. Values listed are for the burger patties. Choose your toppings and extras and adjust as needed. xo

Most weekends I'll cube and roast an entire butternut squash and use it for soups, salads, and even these burgers! You can puree roasted butternut squash at home for this recipe or opt for a store bought puree, totally up to you!

Nutrition Facts

Butternut Black Bean Burgers

Amount Per Serving

Calories 243Calories from Fat 54

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 6g9%

Sodium 157mg7%

Potassium 447mg13%

Total Carbohydrates 38g13%

Dietary Fiber 8g32%

Sugars 1g

Protein 9g18%

Vitamin A75.6%

Vitamin C11%

Calcium6.5%

Iron15%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

If you get a chance to try these healthy butternut black bean burgers, let me know! You can leave me a comment here (LOVE checking those daily!) or tag @PEASandCRAYONS on Instagram so I can happy dance over your creations. I can’t wait to see what you whip up!

so . . . how were they!?

In a word? Awesome! Need a few more words than that? They’re flavorful, filling and f– I should stop before the alliteration takes over again! Yikes!

I’ve made these black bean butternut burgers so many times in the past few weeks that my freezer is like a shrine to butternut burgers.

I’ve been pacing myself, having a veggie burger every few days so I don’t have a repeat episode of the time I made no less than 5001 Sweet Potato Burgers and Paul held an intervention. To be fair I was eating sweet potato burgers like a madman. It was glorious. I should make more and just alternate between the two until I have a rockin’ beta carotene tan. Or I could be normal and eat a varied diet like a civilized human being.

Let’s pretend I’m the latter. We’ll all get gold stars for imagination use on that one.

I’ve rambled oodles, let’s part ways so you can frolic into your kitchen and make these baller black bean butternut burgers. I’ll whip another up too and we can cheers veggie burgers over the ordeal.

PS: This tasty veggie burger recipe is a fantastic use for leftover holiday side dishes so pumpkin, butternut squash, and sweet potato purees will all work here! Woot! For sure try it with butternut if you can though because I’m crazy in love with it! xoxo

Comments

Tia Alyce

These were very good and easy to make. Instead of oats I did cooked brown rice and I actually used pumpkin instesd of butternut squash and it came out great. My only problem is that that burger didnt hold together, any tips for thr future?

Fun swaps and so glad you enjoyed them Tia! Love these burgers like woah!

Okay so the oats are what hold the burger together so you might want to use a little rice flour with the rice or something else to help stick it all together if you want to keep using the brown rice (which is totally a delish swap it just needs some help to stay together!) – Do you have any allergies or things you can’t have? I can probably come up with some other binder suggestions based on that! xo

Angie

Thank you so. Much for this fantastic easy recipe. I had everything in my pantry already. I made it to day and I decided to double the recipe. So glad I did. And instead of cooking on the stove, I grilled them outside. They are wonderful. Not sure how you came up with this? Unlikely ingredients, but a winner!!

Laura

These were so good. My 10 yr old daughter(a year and a half) and husband(6 months) are both vegetarian. I’m still new to vegetarian cooking. Both my boys and myself love meat but it doesn’t bother me to go without it. My 12 yr old hates butternut squash. So I was looking for a new way to make it and it kinda “hide” and I found this. We all loved it and he didn’t know is was butternut until after the burger was devoured. Thanks.

Irene B

My husband and I loved these after I made some small alterations. I used frozen butternut squash cubes (microwaved, then mashed) since that’s what I had. I added: ~1/3 cup sautéed red peppers to the veggie mix, ~1/2 cup panko crumbs, and ground the oats to a course oat flour in my food processor before adding. Held together perfectly and yielded 6-7 burgers. We cooked them all at once and then reheated over the next few days.

Kerry Heck

Hey Kerry, thank you! I’m so honored they’re your favorite! Another reader calculated them out and said each patty has 270 calories, but it will depend on the type of beans (black beans vs refried) and also on the flax egg vs regular egg choice. If you want to enter in what you end up choosing MyFitnessPal.com (They have an awesome free calculator) can help get you a custom calorie count to help make sure the # is most accurate for ya! Hope this helps! xoxo

Anna

These were awesome! Found this recipe because my daughter raved about a butternut/black bean burger she orders at a restaurant in Denver. Made it when she was visiting and she really enjoyed it and requested that I make it again. I had no problems with the recipe at all. Prepared as written. One thing I wasn’t sure about though was the pureed squash. I didn’t know if I could puree it raw, or if I should cook it first, so I went ahead and roasted it then pureed it. Maybe this was an extra step that wasn’t necessary, but they turned out great anyway!! This is definitely a keeper!

Hey Anna,thank you! So thrilled y’all enjoyed the butternut burgers! I’ll make a note about the squash in the recipe so it’s super clear. You basically can use canned squash puree (which is cooked before canning/pureeing) or roast it up like you did! So happy they were a hit! xoxo

Donna

Hi I’m new to vegan food and I’ve been trying a lot of bean burgers most call for 1/3 cup oat flour but I decided to go with it, sorry I didn’t like it for me it’s all about texture and my mouth was full of flour I couldn’t taste the butternut squash it just tasted like uncooked dough I had a hard time to swallow I would like to try something else I will try again.?

Eek! It sounds like something went wrong here for sure. There should be no flour taste to the finished burgers, as the ground oats should cook off completely when pan-frying these veggie burgers. Did you pan fry them or bake them? How long did you let them cook for? I would say the remaining burgers are totally salvageable if you want to allow them to cook longer on the skillet so everything cooks all the way through. The end-goal is a vegan burger that’s nicely seared on each side and hot in the center. I’m happy to help troubleshoot, Donna! xo

Liz

Hey Liz! I had a few readers comment on some grain free swaps they’ve tried that worked great, so I’m going to comb though the comments of a few different burgers on here and see what they said! I’d say almond flour for sure and maybe even your favorite GF AP blend. Coconut may be a bit too dry and soak up too much moisture unless you add extra butternut or oil to compensate? I’ll do some digging and report back! 🙂

Ok so general consensus is to use 1/2 cup of ground flaxseed and some crushed nuts like almonds or walnuts to bind the burgers. It may take a little experimenting to see how much is needed to get them to set for you but I’d say start with maybe a half cup of each and see how it goes? For sure keep me posted! I’ll try to make my next veggie burger recipe grain free and do some experimenting in the kitchen as well! xoxo

amanda nicholls

Keisha Herron

Man Oh Man these burgers are perfect! I subbed the celery and added red peppers at the last minute bc I didnt have the celery then added vegan gouda on top of mine! Yummers thank you for the recipe! When you freeze these do you cook them first and then freeze?

Julie

Very yummy! These were super easy to make, and they held together great when I put them in the pan. They got a bit squishy once I started eating them in the bun, but that is normal for a veggie burger. The taste is really nice, though, lots of different flavors that work really well together!

Amanda

AMAZING!! I consider myself a bit of a veggie burger connoisseur and these are right at the top of the list. Butternut squash is one of my favorite vegetables and it never occurred to me to put it in a veggie burger. Genius!! Will definitely be making again.

Tabetha Carr

New to the vegetarian lifestyle.. saw these on pinterest and decided to try them so I could partake in our family burger night. They were absolutely AMAZING! The flavor was incredible… will definitely be making again.

Fretta

Hi Fretta, so excited you’ll be trying these! During step 6 you’ll stir in your oats to the veggie/bean mixture. No pre-cooking the oats needed, since they’ll help keep the veggie burgers together and cook up while you cook the completed patties 🙂

FrN

If there are other ingredients or it appears thin/watery it may not work or may require extra oats to set the burgers. I’ve only tested it with fresh puree and canned butternut puree intended for recipes. Let me know if you try it though!

Erin

Emailing you right now to help troubleshoot, Erin! Two things I can think of offhand that would do this would be the veggies putting off to much liquid or if you mashed the liquid from canned black beans into the mix. Also swapping ingredients can sometimes require more dry ingredients depending on what you change. I’ll shoot you an email and we’ll figure this out. The mixture shouldn’t have been wet but instead sticky. xoxo

Stepher

These burgers are amazing. This was my first hand at making homemade veggie burgers and it did not disappoint! My boyfriend had no clue he wasn’t eating meat because it was so flavorful. I also added a yogurt sauce on top, will definitely be looking out for more of these recipes, thanks so much!

Tracy

These sound amazing Jenn! My husband and I have been trying to go meat free, so this will be a great option for burgers this summer. I’m not a fan of onions, so was just wondering if you’d recommend doubling up the celery, or replacing the onions with something else? Thanks in advance!

Hi Tracy! So excited for you to try this recipe! 🙂 Do you like other members of the onion family like scallions or shallots? Those are great swaps! You could also try red bell pepper for some great flavor or simply increase the celery a little (you don’t have to double it if that seems like too much celery for ya!) Totally let me know how it goes! xoxo

Kailie

Hey Kailie! I’ve had friends swap in rice for the oats but that’s also a grain so.. eek! The oats act as a binder, holding all the veggie goodness together so while you 100% can experiment with what swap works for you, I’m not sure if the burgers will stay in burger from once you cook/eat them. On the bright side, crumbled veggie burgers are excellent on top of salads and baked sweet potatoes so I would totally suggest experimenting! Let me know how it goes! 🙂

Lauren

Hey Lauren! So sorry to hear they fell apart, these typically hold together like champs for everyone. Did you follow the recipe exactly as written with the pan frying and the sautéed veggies and mashed black beans and all that jazz? Sometimes even the smallest change can make the burger drier and fall apart easier. If you didn’t change a thing, my biggest tip would be to try grinding your oats into more of a powder/meal in a food processor (I do this a lot in my chunkier veggie burger recipes because those really need the extra help with all the veggies and whole beans) — I’ll check back to see what you think and we can troubleshoot some more if needed! 🙂 xoxo

Becky

So excited for you to try them Becky, thank you! I haven’t had sunflowers in a veggie burger before but I’m fascinated.. I bet they’ll be a great addition – totally keep me posted on how the combo goes! ❤️

Felice

Hi Felice! The sear of the oil with the burger in the hot pan helps ensure they stay together and don’t crumble BUT totally bakeable! I’ve had a number of readers exclusively bake the burgers and say they stayed together so you should be a-ok! 20-30 minutes at 400 F until cooked through the center and crispy on the outside should do it!

Loralyn Cross

Kathy Maultsby

These were great! Not wanting to wait 30 minutes while they firmed up in the fridge, and then also not wanting to cook them one or two at a time, I formed them into patties and put them in a shallow pan. Cooked them at 400 degrees for 30 minutes in my Breville toaster oven. They were a little crunchy, although a good crunchy. And they held their shape perfectly. My husband asked me to definitely make these again. Thanks!!

Amanda W.

Hi! I have a batch of these setting right now to be cooked tomorrow! I just wanted to know if we are supposed to leave the oats whole or process them to make a flour. I left mine whole and I hope the burgers come out all right!

Either works great! I usually process them for photos since they look more like a fancy restaurant veggie burger patty that way but leaving them whole works great too and I love the texture it provides! I hope you looooove them Amanda! <3

Mary

Excellent texture, taste, and aroma. I made these “burgers” this evening and followed the recipe as presented, all the way to the condiments. One of the best home-made vegetarian patties I’ve made (or tasted). Not counting cheese or bun, I evaluated the patty online for calories and nutrition (270 calories as I used full circle refried beans), and it was low in saturated fat, high in dietary fiber, and very high in vitamin B6. Nice job; these will be in the dinner rotation!

Lori

Jenn

Hey Lori! The canned Goya beans are perfecto! The only time you’ll have to cook them first is when you buy dried beans in a bag, the canned varieties you can use as is. Simply drain the can, rinse the beans in a strainer, and pop them in the bowl with the rest of your ingredients! I hope you adore the burgers as much as we do! <3

Awesome! Made these with canned pumpkin puree (was feeling lazy and had a can open already!), and they were amazing. I used an entire can 15 oz can of organic black beans, and the texture was perfect. Thanks for the recipe!! Will for sure make these again soon.

Jenn

Jen

Since going vegetarian almost two years ago, my husband and I have tried a dozen or so veggie burger recipes. This one is hands down our new favorite. We made them last week and then just made a double batch today to freeze. Thanks for an amazing recipe!

Jenn

Sarah

Ok….these are actually soooo delicious!! I didn’t have butternut squash (and couldn’t wait to try these!), so I subbed in sweet potato puree and used cilantro instead of parsley….I am in love with the result!! Thank you for this great website and I can’t wait to try so many of your other vegan recipes!!

Jenn

*happy dance* Woot! So glad you love them Sarah! Sweet potato and cilantro sound heavenly for these burgers! Thanks for stopping back in to say hello and for the great review! I’ll try to keep more vegan deliciousness on the recipe lineup! xoxo

Jess

These sound delicious!!! I have a toddler with severe food allergies. We can’t do any grains with him, only quinoa (he has been allergic to rice and wheat so we’ve stayed away from all other grains so far). Any recommendations for replacing the oats???

Jenn

Hey Jess! Quinoa makes a fabulous replacement! Keep a little extra cooked quinoa on hand in case the burgers seem too wet, then you can add more as needed. As long as you get a good sear on them when you’re cooking them skillet-style they should stay together. You could also eyeball using a little extra egg if you think the quinoa needs a little extra stickiness to hold it together. I’ll try to make my next veggie burger all veggies and quinoa so you have another option as well! <3 Let me know how it goes - thanks Jess!

GG

Kimberly

I made this tonight and it was delicious. I didn’t have a butternut squash but I used something similar – a new squash called a Butterkin. Soooo good. I added a jalapeno to the onions, garlic and celery. Topped it with some spicy mayo and cheddar cheese! Thanks!

Jenn

Butterkin?! Awesome! Is it a hybrid of pumpkin and butternut or something entirely different? Regardless – very cool! I’m happy you loved the recipe and heck yes for adding jalapeño! I love those green spice bombs =) Thanks Kimberly!

Cathy Russell

Jenn

Hey Cathy! I’ve never met a veggie burger that could go straight on the grill and live to tell about it [except those franken-fake-meat-burgers] but these could hold their own if you had one of those nifty grill pans or mesh baskets that delicate fish could go on. Or even a cedar plank if you’ve ever used those! I really like the sear that they get on the skillet so I make all my veggie burgers that way. What about adding a little smoked paprika to give it some smoky flavor? I’ve used that in a veggie burger before and really liked it!

Cleeo2

Jenn

You can absolutely try them on the grill with a grill pan [the kind with the little holes in it to let the flavor up into the burger] if you have one. This way they’re guaranteed not to fall through the slats of the grill. Next batch I make [these are a favorite around here!] I will road test on the grill as long as it’s not freezing outside! 🙂

Kate

I love the look of this, and I am definitely going to try it. An easy, nutritious burger is what I have been looking for. I do have a bag of instant oats that I use for everything. You don’t suggest it, but hoping it might work?

Jenn

I have a super picky palate and I find instant oats taste kind of bitter sometimes in certain recipes so just in case anyone else agrees with that I usually instruct my friends to use whole oats. They’ll still absolutely work and since the burger have such great flavor I think you’re good to go! Keep me posted and thanks Kate! xoxo

Betsy

So I don’t cook a lot but these sound delicious and relatively easy. I know this is probably a dumb question, but how do you purée the butternut squash? Do you cook it first and then put it in blender? Thanks for your help

Jenn

Not a dumb question at all,thanks for asking Betsy! You can bake the squash, microwave it, or even roast, boil or steam cubed squash. Whatever works best for you! I like microwaving my butternut for a few minutes, slicing it in half and roasting it face-down for 30-40 minutes in the oven [simply set a timer and leave it be] then scooping out the flesh and fork mashing it. I also love buying pre-sliced/cubed squash and then steaming/roasting it in the oven then popping it in my blender/food processor to puree it for use in recipes. I add the puree to these burgers, muffins for the family, and pancakes! Hope that helps! <3

Ernie

Jenn

Hi Ernie! Thanks! I feel like goon not having my nutrition breakdowns for the blog yet [can we blame my squishy toddler for distracting me?] but it’s a major goal of mine! myfitnesspal.com has a free calculator that can give you a pretty accurate read! It’ll vary based on the type of bun you purchase and if you serve it up on a salad or a bun [I vote try it both ways! Yum!]

Ruth Smith

Just cooked one of these for lunch. Yum! So excited that I found a burger using two of my favorites – butternut squash and black beans. With large butternuts only $1.00 at my local farmer’s market, I have been a happy woman. Thanks for sharing this recipe.